So my daily Pre 3 volume rocker ribbon is torn from catching on the slider. I have a backup Pre 3 that I'm switching to, but I also have a "parts" Pre 3 that has a good volume ribbon that I can swap out.

John (or anyone else) what kind of "micro tool set" do you have to work on electronics that would help replace the ribbon? I'm becoming more and more of an electronics tinkerer

Thanks,
Chris

I have fixed many ribbons, first repair the plastic ribbon, then repair the traces that were broken, then put a layer of thin clear tape to strengthen the ribbon...

All this with a micro tool set, looks like a micro scope but has small metal hands you control with a joystick, it was designed to fix pc main boards back in the day... Now we just swap the main boards...

John, i think he just wants to swap the ribbons between the parts phone and the dd, and is asking as to what tools he'd need besides the usual Torx screwdriver... but.. since we are talking electronics repairs, maybe you might have some advice for me

I have a (desktop) machine i used to use before i bought my current laptop, and it was damaged by rats a three years ago when it was left unattended for a little over a week, where the rat(s) squeezed in through an open PCI slot. At the time, i didn't notice that there was any urine and forgot to remove the CMOS battery, but when i was moving last March, i realized here was now some oxidation

How would i go about checking if the traces have corroded all the way through or it's just surface damage? Does the varnish on the board do anything to protect against electrolytic corrosion or is the board probably hopeless?

John, i think he just wants to swap the ribbons between the parts phone and the dd, and is asking as to what tools he'd need besides the usual Torx screwdriver... but.. since we are talking electronics repairs, maybe you might have some advice for me

I have a (desktop) machine i used to use before i bought my current laptop, and it was damaged by rats a three years ago when it was left unattended for a little over a week, where the rat(s) squeezed in through an open PCI slot. At the time, i didn't notice that there was any urine and forgot to remove the CMOS battery, but when i was moving last March, i realized here was now some oxidation

How would i go about checking if the traces have corroded all the way through or it's just surface damage? Does the varnish on the board do anything to protect against electrolytic corrosion or is the board probably hopeless?

I'll post some pics later...

Depends on the size of the traces if your have a OHM meter that is small enough one can test the trace before/after the corroded area to see if the signal still rides the trace (you have to measure even a small difference because another chip could get the OHM charge and back feed it into the other side).

My OHM meter has a gauge that measures from 0 to 1 with steps of .001, it is digital with an analog as well, so I can see both, if I see .999 instead of 1, so I check hit each pole to each other should get 1, then place each pole on each side of the corroded trace should reach 1, if less then 1 then it could be back feeding from another component (the only real way to test is to isolate the trace that is not easy depending on the type of layered board).

The electrical paste (varnish as you call it) if any was designed to prevent bleeding of the signal, as metallic dust can get inside and cause shorts, nothing is hopeless, just takes time and a cleaning brush (soft like a tooth brush-depending on the size of traces again) to clean the corroded area, remove as much of the bad stuff, until you have just the trace visible, if it is broke one can use a small thread of copper wire to re-join the trace or use solder to fill the broken gap then re-cover with electrical paste (kind of like varnish) not sure what it's real name is, but it is like a rosin, comes in a bottle looks like nail polish, and goes over the trace sealing the trace.

Sorry, not yet... it's in the garage, so i'll probably take a look at it sometime sunday...

I haven't annoyed you in a while about this...so consider this me annoying you for a picture of where I need to put some glue on the Pre 3 volume cable. Thanks! (I thought you said you didn't have a Pre 3?)

I'm sitting her staring at my torn down Pre 3 trying to decide where to put glue on the volume rocker cable. I see the cable...but I don't see anywhere that would logically need some super glue. Everything is attached to the mainboard so how would the slider effect them at all anyway? Confused...might just start smearing light coats of superglue around the cable and be done with it. Anybody on right now that can help?

I'm sitting her staring at my torn down Pre 3 trying to decide where to put glue on the volume rocker cable. I see the cable...but I don't see anywhere that would logically need some super glue. Everything is attached to the mainboard so how would the slider effect them at all anyway? Confused...might just start smearing light coats of superglue around the cable and be done with it. Anybody on right now that can help?

By default HP/Palm used a double back tape, not glue, over time the tape looses which allows the rocker to chaff the cable, over time the cable will snap... I put a long piece of packaging tape over the the entire area which is designed to hold better then the double sided tape, I also am against super glue as it makes the cable (plastic/rubber/nylon what ever it is) brittle and will allow it to snap easier.

Well, I didn't really see anywhere that NEEDED glue or tape at all. Could be that my Pre 3 has only been used for about 4 months total between me and the person I bought it from and it's holding together fine on its own so far. I did use a tiny bit to keep a seem from popping up too much but it's not something I'm worried about snapping. I'll continue to take care of the slider by not slamming it open and closed like I used to do to my Pre+ anyway. No warranty...gotta take care of it! I have a spare Pre 3 though so I'm good in the event of a catastrophic failure. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Thanks for the reply.

To better serve others diving into Pre 3 use or those starting to get the "click" do you think you could grab a picture of how you have yours taped?